Risk-free driveway paving? Citywide Paving lets you pay when the job is done
As the third generation of his family to be working with asphalt, James Kenneally of Citywide Paving has learned more than a few things about driveways and groundwork, but the most important lesson he learned from his father and his grandfather was that happy customers should always be your top priority.
“For me, customer satisfaction is guaranteed because that’s who gives you the business and the work,” said Kenneally. He and his family are so confident in the jobs they do that they don’t ask for any deposit, progress payments or any other money up front until the work is done and their customers are happy.
“We don’t accept a single dollar until the job is complete and meets the standards of the customer. It’s something my grandfather did in the past doing this same business. It just gives the customer a sense of comfort and security and creates a bond of trust.”
They even have a pricematch guarantee, so they promise you’ll get the best deal. The reason Citywide can afford to offer so much value at a lower cost is because after three generations of successful asphalt paving, they’ve accumulated millions of dollars of equipment that have been completely paid off. Kenneally believes that gives them an advantage over contractors who are swamped by the overhead costs of such equipment, which sometimes forces those contractors to work at inappropriate speeds, cut corners and skimp on quality, which all gets pushed onto the customer.
PAVING THE WAY FROM EUROPE TO CANADA
Citywide Paving has its roots in Europe where Kenneally’s grandfather began the company in the 1950s paving parking lots, driveways and roadways. He was joined by his son when he was 16, then James and his four brothers joined the family business when they were teenagers.
Their Canadian connection was their grandmother who was originally from Toronto. They would often visit Canada as children and began spending more and more time here until the family finally emigrated in 2014. Their final destination was not to the country’s largest city but to its capital instead.
“Toronto was too commercialized and busy, but I fell in love with Ottawa,” recalled Kenneally. “It felt more like home and was more traditional for me, so I decided to move here permanently.”
Once the family was fully ensconced in Ottawa, they relaunched Citywide Paving, applying the lessons they learned in Europe to the work they did here. Many of those lessons were passed on to the brothers by their 63-year-old father who Kenneally says is supposed to be retired, but still goes out every morning on jobs with his boys because he loves the work so much.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS
Those lessons have served them well and while some of them may seem old-school, Kenneally said they have helped Citywide Paving be a success in Ottawa since the day it launched.
An example of one of those old-school lessons, said Kenneally, is their practice of pouring concrete footings at the top of residential driveways to prevent sagging, something that few, if any, of their competitors do.
“One of the main things my father told me is that no matter how nice the job looks on top, it’s the foundation that matters. So, we take deep pride in that and because we take the foundation seriously, we can offer a guarantee that’s a lot longer than other companies.”
Citywide Paving offers a five-year-replacement warranty, said Kenneally, which means they don’t just repair their work, they redo it completely.
“We never go and put in a patch of asphalt for the simple reason that I treat customers the same as I’d want to be treated. If I had a beautiful home and I paid a lot of money to have a driveway paved, I wouldn’t like anybody coming out and putting a patch on it because you’d always see it and it wouldn’t look good.”
Truth be told, said Kenneally, they rarely have to redo their work because of the great care they take when they do any job.
“If you put in a good foundation and lay the right depth of asphalt, it’s very uncommon to have a problem,” he said. “Asphalt can last any number of years if it’s made correctly.”
One of the secrets of their success, he added, is that Citywide Paving lays three inches of asphalt compared to most other Ottawa companies, which typically lay a depth of only two-and-a-half inches.
“I think three inches is needed, not more, not less,” said Kenneally. “Some customers ask what about four inches or five inches, but putting more asphalt on doesn’t mean that you would get a better job or a longer-lasting job. In actual fact, there’s a hazard of it sinking if it’s too thick.”
PAVING THE FUTURE PATH
What’s next for Citywide Paving? As Kenneally tells it, the company just might stay in the family for a fourth generation as he says his three sons and daughter, the oldest of which is 13, are interested in keeping it going.
To demonstrate their professionalism, quality and desire to even the playing field for homeowners in Ottawa the way they did in Europe, Citywide Paving is offering a free driveway giveaway for homeowners that are in need and deserve a free upgrade. Look for details on City Widepave.ca. You can also get a free quote by visiting www.citywidepave.ca/contact-4.